


Return to Us

by Matterofhope



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Angst?, Feels, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, as always, but a happy ending, dave is trying to stay alive, hal explains stuff to dave, hal is always there for him, heavy reference to sherlock actually, mention of sherlock BBC, mgs4 soilers, my old fandom is showing, old snake - Freeform, shit-, some sadness in there, space odyssey spoilers in notes, takes place in gw's server room, this was just an idea i had
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27972701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matterofhope/pseuds/Matterofhope
Summary: When you're dying, you can see your life play out in front of your eyes. However for Snake, he woke up in a white room, with Hal standing in the middle of it."You're dying, Dave."
Relationships: Otacon/Solid Snake
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Return to Us

Everyone says that when you’re dying, you can see your life flash before your eyes. When you start to drift off into a space that isn't life or death. Living or dying, you’re able to see your life play out. 

Instead, Snake woke up with his back on hard floor. The ceiling above him was white. When he tried sitting up, he did so with ease. That was unusual for his age. 

The room he woke up in was big and white. It was bright and a bit chilling. Maybe this was the portal to heaven. Was he going to meet God or something?- 

When David sat up a bit, the first thing he saw was Hal standing in the room. 

_If Hal was here, then, maybe it was heaven._

“You’re dying, Dave.” Is the first thing Hal said. Awfully sounding like the computer he was named after. 

“I am, aren’t I?” Dave responded.

“I don’t want you to go, not yet.” 

“I don’t have much of a choice, Hal.” Dave tried standing up. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you or Sunny-” Dave paused once he stood up, realizing what he had just admitted. It had been in the back of his mind for a while now, he just wasn't ready to face the idea of leaving Sunny and Hal behind in his wake. “....but my fight is over, I did what I had to do.” 

The Hal in front of him seemed to disregard what he just said. “You’re still in the server room,” he stepped closer. “You’re not safe there.” 

“What do you mean?” Dave walked closer. He was in his sneaking suit. Except it wasn’t frayed or burnt. But perfectly put together like it was at the beginning of his mission. 

“What I mean is…” Hal pushed up his glasses. “Liquid has access to you there in the room.” 

Dave blinked. _This wasn't real._ “You’re my subconsciousness. How do you know this?” 

“How do you know I’m not the real Hal, talking to you through the codec? Maybe this is all a dream, some sort of safe place your mind drifted you to.” Hal smiled, the little turn of his lips that Dave always loved. 

He paused, then began again. "The brain tries to make sense of any outside activity. Like when you’re sleeping, the brain simply incorporates any outside sound into your dream. It doesn’t _always_ happen, but sometimes it does. The white room, and this-” Hal pointed to himself. “Is how your brain is deciding to incorporate what I must be telling you in the real world.” 

“So what is all _this_ exactly?” Dave gestured around. 

“This isn’t your subconsciousness per se...this is more of a….” Hal thought for a moment. “A mind palace. Remember when we watched Sherlock BBC together?” 

“How could I forget?” Dave muttered. 

“It’s like that. When Sherlock was dying, his brain tried to make sense of what was happening. It even tried reviving him.” 

“So?” Dave walked closer, wondering what would happen if he just reached out and touched him, this imaginary-made-up Hal in his head that seemed to have all the answers. 

“Your brain is stronger than your body, Dave. Your mind has stayed sharp your whole life. It’s trying to keep you alive while your body is failing you.” 

Dave struggled to understand. “So If this is my mind palace, then there should be something here to jolt me alive right? Like in the tv show?” 

“Yes.” 

“So what is it? What’s going to bring me out of this state?” 

~

It had already been thirty minutes - an hour even - since the microwave tunnel had stopped burning _._ Yet, when Hal stepped through the tunnel, he still felt it warm. The walls were still tinted red from the high degrees of heat. 

When the door to the server room slid open, he could see Dave tipped over, laying on the floor, arms stretched out; exactly how he last saw him through the Mk.III

As soon as Hal spotted him, he ran and fell to his knees, in front of Dave’s unconscious form. 

“Snake-” Hal put his hands on Dave’s shoulders, and with as much will as he could muster, Hal sat him up. 

Hal could feel the frayed ends of Dave’s burnt suit under his grasp. 

“David?….” he hesitantly said, hoping no one would hear. 

Soon Dave’s lips opened, barely letting out a breath. That was a hopeful sign at least. 

“Dave,” Hal repeated. He put a pair of fingers up to his pulse. There was a heart still beating, still fighting, but it was barely present.

Hal shook him a little bit, regretting the action right after. 

He couldn't shake the thought that it was like the movies. One character clinging onto the other, begging them to wake up, to still be _alive_. 

Maybe saying something to the unconscious character....like... _I can't lose you._

Which if Hal thought about it - It was true - but he didn’t want to admit it. Dave didn’t wanna hear it either. So Hal kept silent, never expressing that he didn’t wanna lose ~~the man he loved~~ Snake. 

_Was this what finally put an end to Solid Snake?_

Hal couldn't bear the thought. After everything he had survived, _this_ was it?

“Snake, c’mon.” Hal cupped the side of his face, Dave felt cold under his touch. 

They stayed like that for a minute or two. Hal racked his brain, coming close to calling for help, but no one knew he had left The Missouri in search of Snake. 

Hal looked down at him one last time, noticing Dave’s eyes opening just a sliver. They scanned the room first before meeting Hal’s gaze. 

“Snake….are you with me?” Hal whispered, leaning in closer so David could hear him. 

“Yeah.” Dave’s response was barely audible, but it was enough to soothe Hal’s nerves. 

“Do you think you could walk?” Hal asked him. “With a little help, of course.”

And for the first time in a while, David admitted to not being able to pick himself up and pretend he was fine. He wasn’t sure he could muster up the strength to walk; even with Hal's help. 

“No.” He said. “I don’t think I can.” 

“Okay.” Hal’s lips tried forming a smile, “I'll call some people to come for us. In the meantime, I’ll wait with you.” 

“Thank you,” Dave says, looking the most exhausted Hal has ever seen him.

“No need to thank me,” Hal responds. “I’ll always be with you, no matter what.”

**Author's Note:**

> I took inspiration from both Sherlock, the wonders of our brains, along with a white room, resembling the ending scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey where Dave (David Bowman In this case) has to face himself, watching himself age. Similar to our Dave.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
